THAT FAMOUS FLAG PHOTO

Four days into the battle for Iwo Jima, Marine Capt. Dave Severance sent some of his men to capture Mount Suribachi. On the way up, they were handed a flag.

They raised it when they got to the top. And the rest is history, right?

Not exactly, as Severance explained recently.

A second flag was raised later on Suribachi, and that’s the moment that was captured in the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning photo by Joe Rosenthal of The Associated Press, perhaps the most recognizable picture from the entire war.

Severance said a second flag was raised to keep the first one out of the hands of Navy Secretary James Forrestal, who wanted it for a souvenir. The Marines were determined to keep the first one for themselves.

Severance, 93, lives in La Jolla. He spent 30 years in the Marines. Like many of those fighting on Iwo Jima, he thought the battle was over when the flag went up. It lasted another month. About 75 percent of his company was wounded or killed. Many of the men received medals for valor, including Severance, who received a Silver Star.